Diminutives in word creation of modern poets

Abstract

The paper explores distinctive features of diminutive usage – particularly expressive and unconventional forms – in Russian poetry from the second half of the 20th century through the first quarter of the 21st century drawing on examples from the works of 70 poets, including A. Kondratov, V. Sosnora, G. Sapgir, D. A. Prigov, O. Yuryev, P. Barskova, V. Pavlova, L. Losev, V. Gandelsman, A. Levin, V. Strochkov, etc. It examines the conceptualization of diminutives within the poetics of the literary and artistic group “mit’ki”, the role of diminutives in textual composition, their clustering and frequency in word-formation pairs and nests, which highlights the derivational relationships between traditional and contemporary diminutives and revives forgotten lexical connections. The study also considers the expansion of the lexical scope of diminutives, including potential diminutives and authorial neologisms, as well as their lexical and semantic transformations. Structural features such as reverse word formation, reduplication, and the autonomous use of diminutive affixes are discussed alongside phonetic and graphic means of expressive enhancement – such as word lengthening and shortening, imitation of others’ speech, use of orthographic archaisms, and the addition of diminutive suffixes to Old Slavonic roots. The influence of rhyme on diminutive usage is also highlighted, particularly regarding authorial neologisms and the contextual presentation of word-formation models. The study demonstrates that in poetry from the second half of the 20th century to the present day with its active word creation, the repertoire of diminutives, their functions, style and structure are much more diverse than their everyday linguistic use. This development is largely attributed to the characteristic phonetic and structural repetitions in poetry – including root, word-formation, and syntactic repetitions – that, often driven by rhyme, facilitate the contextual activation of word-formation nests, types, and models. In modern poetry, diminutives frequently serve an aesthetic function, with diminutive neologisms forming a foundation for linguistic play, especially in children’s poetry.